Haas team principal Günther Steiner believes Formula 1 needs to retain an element of risk during pit stops despite a Ferrari mechanic being injured during the Bahrain Grand P🌳rix. 

Ferrari was fined €50,000 for Kimi R🌸aikkonen’s unsafe release in Bahrain tha𝓰t resulted in one of its F1 mechanics suffering a broken leg. Raikkonen was given the green light to leave his pit box area despite his rear-left wheel not having been removed.

As the Finn accelerated away, 🍰he hit mechanic Francesco Gigorini, who had successful surgery on fractures to his tibia and fibula in his left leg earl♕ier this week. The Scuderia is currently investigating why its automated pit stop system instructed Raikkonen to go when fail-safes are meant override such scenarios from occurring. 

The incident followed Haas receiving a €10,000 fiജne for the unsafe releases that led to the US squad’s double retirement at the Australian Grand Prix, while a similar issue caused Raikkonen to stop on track with a loose wheel in FP2 in Bahrain. The subject was brought up during Thursday’s media sessions ahead of this 🎉weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

“It’s a difficult answer because for our pit stop, OK for us it didn’t make it interesting but it gives another element of risk in the race of interest,” Steiner said when asked if F1 pit stops have become tooꦿ risky. “If you make everything 100 percent safe, why the hell do we watch F1 racing? 

“I’m not saying that we should put people in danger, but how many years since we had the last injured men? It’s a dangerous sport, it can happen. Playing football sometꦦimes somebody breaks their leg. I feel sorry about the guy and I think it shouldn’t happen but it happened and we cannot make it righ🐼t anyway.”

Steiner warned against F1 making a knee-jerk reaction in the wa🍌ke of Raikkonen’s botched pit stop and sa💯id removing the human element in pit stops would be bad for fans.

“We need to have this, where a human being can make a mistake. It happened to us and I’m not happy about it but in general we need some risk taking. If you make everything auto♛matic and𒁃 put robots there, they’ll be no problem. 

“But who is going to watch us? When it gets dangerous like the Ferrari one it needs to be investigated but I don’t think one has to do wi⭕th the other one. that was another mistake. 

“But all the other incidents with our ones, the system worked so why would 🏅you change it? Who pays the consequence? The pe♛ople who sit at home, nobody else. I wouldn’t rush to a knee-jerk reaction after what happened. 

“It was our fault, we paid the price for it and on we move. Nobody was hurt in our instance a൲nd it’s part of F1. If you do something wrong you get penalised.”